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Most interesting episode yet. When Midori pushed Mio's umbrella away, I was actually expecting something more... gruesome. (Since Mio kept going on and on that she wanted to disappear, I thought she was already non-corporeal and was hiding some kind of wound/missing body part/etc.) Revalation still was a surprise, but I was actually a little relieved... (Just her shadow, whew)

I'm guessing that Midori is a spiritual projection of Mio of some sorts, just based on KEY's past heroines when the route took a supernatural turn.

That was some reverse-NTRish stuff going on in the end there. Wonder what would've happened if Riki hadn't pushed her away?

Really, of all the people to have vanish from the show, it had to be Mio? :S Well that is just plain balls.

Anyhow Midori is definitely creepy. She's like the opposite of Mio, being outgoing and possibly extremely sexually aggressive. Seems to be some kind of bizzare fantasy character that was created. I guess being the shadow is probably why.

I thought this was a decent episode, though the transitions are still choppy. And why is she having to disappear?

Dang it Avalon, you c(XD LOL)-block Shirou and Reinforce, but don't protect his mind in other ways? What is wrong, you woman?
Friendship, be made! Magical power, gather! Starlight Breaker.... this world!

While intellectually I find Mio's story quite interesting I must say that the anime team is making a fine job at disconnecting me emotionally from what could be yet another emotional roller coaster from Key.

There's just absolutely no subtlety in this episode. Absolutely none! There's at least half a episode where the main character was supposed to be growing more and more suspicious of something that's not quite right and yet we get a bunch of "oh, that's right" moments with virtually no buildup whatsoever. It's killing me because I actually want to like this show, I feel like the stories it wants to tell would be enjoyable for me but the constantly subpar presentation keeps detaching me.

The constant monologues, the color palette that seems to be composed of only "bright" colors even when the mood requests otherwise and the jarring scene transitions just keep on pulling me out of the experience.

There are two scenes in particular that left me feeling like this on this latest episode. The most jarring one to me is when Riki is sitting bellow the tree supposedly looking grim over the fact that Mio has been replaced. He was supposed to look grim but the scene around him is so colorful that it becomes jarring. I had no qualms at first with the bright look of the show but when you have a scene that is supposed to be somber looking like a bright sun shining day it kind of feels out of place.

The other moment that pulled me out of the experience was when Riki says that it would be nice to sit under the tree and read a book. I was expecting at least a bit of dramatic pause or something to let the feeling of discomfort over that strangeness sit in but the scene hardly has a few seconds to rest. It kills the mood.

And I won't get much into the revelation scene on the beach where the "camera angles" got me more confused over what the hell was it trying to show me rather than what the revelation itself was. When the reveal of the lack of shadow came from Midori it took quite a while to actually see it for myself since the scene took its time to show it. It killed the drama and bit.

Don't get me wrong though, this was one of the few episodes that had me on edge to learn more (the last time I felt this was during Komari's arc) but I hardly felt anything emotionally for the characters due to the art and scene directions.

I think I am in favor of the idea that Mio is one person and Midori is Mio's idea of what she should have been. Mio's perception of an ideal self was so strong that it actually manifested into a being called "Midori." Midori herself said that she is 80% of Mio's shadow, so Mio was almost about to truly disappear from this world and have Midori replace her until Riki and the Little Busters! managed to sway her to staying for a bit longer. It really is up to Riki to get the "real" Mio back or he will slowly start not to remember her until he becomes what he was like when he woke up.

While intellectually I find Mio's story quite interesting I must say that the anime team is making a fine job at disconnecting me emotionally from what could be yet another emotional roller coaster from Key.

There's just absolutely no subtlety in this episode. Absolutely none! There's at least half a episode where the main character was supposed to be growing more and more suspicious of something that's not quite right and yet we get a bunch of "oh, that's right" moments with virtually no buildup whatsoever. It's killing me because I actually want to like this show, I feel like the stories it wants to tell would be enjoyable for me but the constantly subpar presentation keeps detaching me.

The constant monologues, the color palette that seems to be composed of only "bright" colors even when the mood requests otherwise and the jarring scene transitions just keep on pulling me out of the experience.

There are two scenes in particular that left me feeling like this on this latest episode. The most jarring one to me is when Riki is sitting bellow the tree supposedly looking grim over the fact that Mio has been replaced. He was supposed to look grim but the scene around him is so colorful that it becomes jarring. I had no qualms at first with the bright look of the show but when you have a scene that is supposed to be somber looking like a bright sun shining day it kind of feels out of place.

The other moment that pulled me out of the experience was when Riki says that it would be nice to sit under the tree and read a book. I was expecting at least a bit of dramatic pause or something to let the feeling of discomfort over that strangeness sit in but the scene hardly has a few seconds to rest. It kills the mood.

And I won't get much into the revelation scene on the beach where the "camera angles" got me more confused over what the hell was it trying to show me rather than what the revelation itself was. When the reveal of the lack of shadow came from Midori it took quite a while to actually see it for myself since the scene took its time to show it. It killed the drama and bit.

Don't get me wrong though, this was one of the few episodes that had me on edge to learn more (the last time I felt this was during Komari's arc) but I hardly felt anything emotionally for the characters due to the art and scene directions.

Note: I have not played the game yet.

3 episodes for a route from a visual novel would have failed to some people anyway

Ringil: Somehow I agree....

__________________

Dang it Avalon, you c(XD LOL)-block Shirou and Reinforce, but don't protect his mind in other ways? What is wrong, you woman?
Friendship, be made! Magical power, gather! Starlight Breaker.... this world!

Anybody know if they showed Mio's shadow at all before this episode? From what I could tell, during the times when she isn't hiding behind the shadow of something else, the camera is positioned so you can't see her shadow.

Nope, they haven't...unless you consider the OP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ringil

I think I like Midori more than Mio XD

Midori? Who's that?

===

Anyways, pretty lackluster in particular compared to the VN, simply because of the no-romance route. Honestly, everything would have been better with romance.

I forgot about the OP. I remember not being happy with them showing her with a shadow when I first saw the opening. They should have done something else with the OP that wouldn't require Mio having a shadow.

__________________

A miracle that you believe in when you know it won't happen......... is hope.

I forgot about the OP. I remember not being happy with them showing her with a shadow when I first saw the opening. They should have done something else with the OP that wouldn't require Mio having a shadow.

Is not a white bird forlorn? It melts neither into the sky blue nor into the sea blue. It flies and floats.

Mio, the Lady Under the Parasol is gone, and her memories slowly fade into oblivion. Meanwhile, her doppelganger Midori, the Lady Under the Sunlight, claims Under-the-Parasol's existence as hers. And Riki is the only one who can save Mio, if she can be still saved.

Right now, I can't say who is the original and who is the fake one, but the escapism card can be dealt here. Mio is the type of person who wanted to immerse herself in different worlds, and with Key's tendency to shift to the supernatural, Mio might have made Midori to "replace" herself... an "extra life" of sorts. Heck, Mio might actually be a remnant of someone else, since Mio and Midori are both shadowless!

I swear, the whole first part of the episode felt like Fuuko's arc to me. The rewriting part though, felt more like the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. Are we sure Nishizono isn't playing both Haruhi and Nagato? Because 'Kyon' would be Riki, then.

I dunno, Midori seems to be everything Mio's not. That includes being sexually aggressive, I guess. With Mio's BL fantasies and scenarios, although she says them as 'jokes', I guess it was a more hidden side of her which came to be expressed by Midori. Hmm, if Midori is 80% shadow, what could the other 20% be? Wishes?Totally waiting for a Persona moment here

I guess since I watched CLANNAD, having supernatural stuff going on seems normal to me. I like both Mio and Midori's personalities, so I wonder who I would choose...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Anyway, that was a really good and fascinating episode! It was probably the best LB! episode yet. However, as good as it was, I bet it would be even better as part of a full-fledge romance. I mean, the story of a guy trying to rescue his disappearing girlfriend, and then getting groped by her seductive "Dark Twin" who has his girlfriend's hands but not her personality... That could be gold, baby! Total gold!

This is actually a really interesting idea. It turns me on. Hopefully it gets used sooner or later. Yeah! Pure gold!

EDIT: @Dextro I thought that the scenery fit in actually, since everyone else is treating it like a normal day and all, and only Riki is thinking about Mio. Unless you're the type to like rain when bad things happen, etc. C'mon, it rained twice already!